Improper Women (Greece) Flashcards
1
Q
Porne
A
- slaves owned by brothel-keeper
- name had negative connotations (derogatory)
- cannot keep money
- work+live in brothels
- low class
- exposed themselves on streets/ pull men into brothel
2
Q
Hetaira
A
- usually metics
- range of talents
- eg. singing, recite poetry, dance, intellectual conversation etc
- moved in elite circles
- go to philosopher’s lectures to learn debating/ gain more knowledge to talk to men about
- could achieve fame + fortune
- chooses clients
- charges huge sums of money
- entertain men in symposia
- educated in politics, music etc
woman holding flute = hetaira
3
Q
Porne + Hetaira overlap
A
- both are hired to entertain men
- neither are seen as respectable women
- legal
- primary way of making money= having intercourse
- risk of unwanted pregnancy/ STDs
- used makeup (decieve men?)
4
Q
what happens in the story of Neira?
A
- as a child she was sold to brothel keeper (Nicarete)
- becomes slave hetaira
- became famous
- two regular clients bought her, tired of paying high fees
- became exclusive prostitute to them
- gets sold to Phrynion, clients were ready to marry
- Phrynion treated her with brutality, escapes with valuables + 2 maids
- meets Stephanus and invited to move to Athens to pretend to be his wife
- promised to tell everyone that she was an Athenian citizen + her children were his
- rented her out as prostitute to make money
- blackmails clients, “catching them” with her as her “husband” to make them bribe him
- her past was discovered and court case was brought against her
- court did not imply any mistreatment, made her seem like villainess
5
Q
Quote from against Neaira, Demosthenes
A
“if a woman is guilty of any such sin, she will
be an outcast from her husband’s home and from the sanctuaries of the city.”
- uses Neaira as bad as example, shows no nuance
- “sin”, “outcast”, “guilty” - all words that link to negative things, makes her seem like villainess
- no sympathy from men
6
Q
Who was Aspasia in a relationship with?
A
Pericles, an influential politician in Athens
7
Q
What was Aspasia’s relationship with Pericles like?
A
- he “loved her desperately”
- greeted her with “tender kissing” when she came back from agora
- broke off war against Milesians to please Aspasia
- driven by lust?
indirect influence through Pericles
8
Q
What showed that Aspasia was famous even outside of Athens?
A
- Cyrus, man who fought king of Persia for leadership of the persians named one of his most loved prostitues after her
